


Rebellious Will

by UchihanoChidori



Category: Ai no Kusabi, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Drama, Explicit Sexual Content, Falling In Love, Incest, M/M, Other, Romance, Sexual Tension, Violence, World Domination, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-20
Updated: 2014-07-28
Packaged: 2018-02-09 17:13:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1991106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UchihanoChidori/pseuds/UchihanoChidori
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the middle of a society that offers nothing but hardships and prejudice, two people from different worlds meet and join forces to create a new Era and prove that not all unusual love stories are fated to fail. Sasuke/Naruto. Mild Itachi/Sasuke and Kiba/Sasuke.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE READ!
> 
> Okay, guys, so, this fic is about two years old. I wrote it for a challenge at Y!Gallery, and since it was so well received, I thought about continuing it but never really did it since I was focusing on other fics. I've written a second part for it that will be posted in about two or three days. Since someone approached me about continuing it (and since it's not the first time) I'm kind of testing the waters to see how you guys receive this fic here at AO3, and depending on that, I might finish it or simply discontinue it for good and probably delete it. I'm also holding a poll at Y!Gal. 
> 
> This fic holds a special place in my heart, which is why I'm willing to give it a second chance in spite of the absurd amount of work I already have in my hands.
> 
> The universe described here is like the same one we see on the old OVAs of Ai No Kusabi, but there're also a few things that came from the novels, as well as a few that are made up by me. Naruto and Sasuke are not, however, supposed to be replacements for Iason and Riki - the story is completely different, as I'm sure those of you who know AnK will notice. This actually takes place about 10 years after the Iason/Riki story.
> 
> HOWEVER, you don't need to be an AnK connoiseur to read this fic. Most people who read it didn't know AnK and still managed to follow everything perfectly fine.
> 
> Not betaed. 
> 
> Thank you for your time, and enjoy!

**Rebellious Will**

**Part I**

 

In the eyes of higher societies, Ceres was nothing more than a place created with the sole purpose of sheltering all things that were considered filthy in the world of Amoy.  
  
The constant disregard of one's humanity seemed natural to those living outside the walls of the small, ill-looking city where not even the lights glowed as brightly as everywhere else around it. However, every single person that inhabited it tried to live as best as they could with the little resources they could get through the illegal (and expensive) underground providences of lively Midas, one day at the time, knowing that it was fate that got them where they were.  
  
Ceres represented the human trash of a strictly casted society. While Tanagura held the rich, the strong and the powerful in a world of uncontained luxury, Midas was the middle/high-classed hot spot, containing the commercial area of Amoy where some could afford to dream and be someone, leaving Ceres to rot at the bottom of the ranking.  
  
Life wasn't easy in the place called 'Slums', nor offered perspectives or longitude. The male gender was predominant, and the few women who managed to survive tended to seclude themselves in order to escape from the avid eyes of men if they weren't abducted to serve the sinful fetishes of Midas first. People worked hard to survive during the day – some in a more honest way than others – and tried to have fun during the night. Enjoying themselves and living life as extremely as they could was the motto of many, as a silent code of understating was permanently established.  
  
There wasn't a single thing that Uchiha Sasuke cherished about the place he had been born in. It was filthy, secluded, poor, and it was decaying more and more with every month that passed. The imminent scent of death surrounded Ceres, which was crumbling with excruciating slowness. One day it would be no better than the long lost wrecks of Dana-Burn.  
  
Amoy, sin-filled and unjust would perish at some point under Jupiter's absurd leadership.  
  
Still, for as long as it existed, the need for survival and the wish for more – for greatness – would always be valid to him.  
  
Sasuke often regretted his and his brother Itachi's breeding. Deep inside, he knew they were better than those around them; cleverer, fitted for more than that, and destined for something larger than them. Nonetheless, they were both cursed with the same, immutable curse – hair that was naturally as dark as night itself.  
  
Black hair could be seen everywhere. It wasn’t as if it was trait exclusive to mongrels, but it wasn’t the kind of color the rich would normally choose willingly, and if they did, it would always have to be highlighted in bright colors so as to leave no room for questions on their identity. So, of course, hair as simple and dark as Sasuke’s and Itachi’s was an obvious give away of their breeding.  
  
In the Slums, they were considered beautiful. In Midas, some would throw dissimulated glaces their way whenever they strolled about the busy streets, but never for too long in fear of being caught ogling over worthless Mongrels.  
  
But beauty was relative to Sasuke since it wasn't able to get him anywhere. He would have rathered be ugly and have red or light brown hair that would more easily give him acess to what he wanted than being attractive and troubled by such a dark, repressive color.  
  
He wanted _more_. He wanted an apartment in Midas, and a steady job. He wanted to penetrate the walls of Tanagura. He wanted to feel safe instead of knowing that his head held a high price for being directly involved with the Black Market. Sure, he and Itachi were respected – and feared – amongst other dealers, and made good money, but it still, it wasn't enough to get out of Ceres. Not that they _could_ , even if they wanted to, since there had to be some kind of law to forbid Mongrels from being registered citizens of Midas.  
  
Unless they had some sort of strong recommendation from someone working with the higher powers, they would never get out of there.  
  
It frustrated Sasuke to no end.  
  
The plain living room of the spacious apartment he resided in with his brother was mostly covered in darkness in that hot summer night. The only source of light provided was filtering through the wide, opened window and allowed him to see the shadows and the contours of the few, modest pieces of furniture that surrounded him.  
  
Sasuke was sitting on the old large red sofa with his back leaning on the armrest and his legs stretched out over the cushions. His hands were resting over his naked belly, the right one over the left one. His dark, intelligent eyes focused straight ahead on one particular spot that could be seen through the window - the huge, dome-like island of Tanagura seemed distant; yet, it shone brightly like so many colorful suns, offering such a ridiculous amount of light that it outshone all the other exhuberant lights in the sparkly Midas.  
  
Like a fly, attracted to the heat of a lamp, Sasuke was attracted to _that place_.  
  
"Sasuke..." a low, whispered voice called out from behind him as a hot breath brushed his ear and shook him off from a daydream he hadn't noticed he had immersed himself into. "Stop fantasizing, little brother."  
  
It was unusual for Sasuke to lose himself so deeply inside his own mind that he wouldn't notice his surroundings, and yet, he had completely missed out the presence of another person in the room.  
  
He let out a long sigh of contentment as soft lips were pressed gently over the curve of his exposed neck, silky strands of Itachi's long hair tickling his nape. His gaze, however, never left the exuberant scenario in front of him. If there was one thing he loved about his house, it was the view.  
  
"What is it that you expect from that place?" Itachi asked, in a mutter that held a hint of scorn to it. "What is it that you seek? To become a slave to the whims of those prototypes everyone thinks perfect?"  
  
Sasuke bit his lip, eyebrows furrowing slightly as a hand encircled his neck from behind, long fingers rubbing his Adam's apple with gentleness.  
  
"It's beautiful," he stated firmly, even as his eyelids fell just bit as a tongue flicked teasingly along the side of his neck.  
  
"Blinding lights," Itachi whispered. "Nothing more."  
  
The younger Uchiha refused to contradict his older brother's ideals – they had had similar conversations before, and as agreeable as they were with each other most of the times, that topic made them clash all too frequently.  
  
Sasuke strongly believed that the day would come when Tanagura would be reachable to anyone worthy enough, independently of their breeding. Even if that day would take a while to come, he dreamed that he would somehow, some day, be able to get in there thanks to his own capacities.  
  
Itachi thought Sasuke was an idealistic in a world where justice didn't prevail. Mongrels didn't belong in Tanagura, just like Blondys could never fit into the rotten streets of Ceres; and things were as they were thanks to the strict laws that held Amoi together.  
  
"That story I told you about…" Itachi said, letting go of him completely and moving so that he was standing beside the sofa on Sasuke's right. "Its purpose wasn't to make you hope for a future there. It was meant to make you understand that nothing in this world is simple or easy. Not even love."  
  
Sasuke's gaze drifted away from the window and he looked up to meet his brother's tall, pale figure that seemed to blend in the semi-darkness. Like him, Itachi was wearing nothing but a pair of black boxers and yet, he still looked imposing.  
  
"That story is the proof that some things aren't meant to co-exist," Itachi proceeded, eyeing the other one seriously, reaching out a hand to place it over Sasuke's head in an almost fatherly way. "We are Mongrels, and no matter how much you think we don't belong here, who we are runs in our blood. This world, this reality, isn't ready for us yet."  
  
"This reality is ridiculous," Sasuke said with a heavy sneer. "Someone has to change it. What just world considers real humans lower than genetically mutated living beings? It doesn't make sense. It has to stop."  
  
"That world you seem to despise is the same one you wish to live in, Sasuke," Itachi pointed out gently, ruffling his hair. "You are contradicting yourself."  
  
"I want that," Sasuke said, gesturing to the window with a sharp flick of his hand. "I want to be there, but as an equal, as someone who has struggled in life, someone who is worthy and smart enough to be among them. I want justice and equality for all. I want for people to be seen for what they can offer instead of their hair color."  
  
Itachi sighed and let his hand drop to the side of his body.  
  
"Your dreams are loud but they don't reach anybody's ears," he said, tiredly. "There is no such thing as 'equality', Sasuke. Some are meant for great things, others aren't. Fate is immutable."  
  
Sasuke scowled.  
  
"I don't understand how you can be so accepting of your condition, Itachi," he muttered, shifting in his seat and turning to the side so that he was now sitting, his bare feet landing on the cold floor. He leaned his head back so that he was looking at the handsome, semi-obscured features of his brother's face. "Is there nothing that you wish for, nothing you crave with all your soul?"  
  
Itachi crouched down in front of him so that they were level-eyed, one hand in each of Sasuke knees for support. When he spoke, he did it in a soft, but grave whisper. "I am a Mongrel, not an infected beast, so there is no reason for me to despise my existence. I have enough resources to go through each day and still breathe easily without concerning myself about tomorrow." His fingers rubbed the knees lightly. "As it is, in truth I tell you that there is nothing I wish for."  
  
Sasuke eyed him for a while, pressing his lips stubbornly together.  
  
"How come?" he asked, after a while.  
  
In the darkness, he could barely register it, but he was sure Itachi was smilling.  
  
"Because ever since _Mother_ died, the only thing I ever truly desired was for you to be safe with me, beside me," the older one said, removing his left hand from the knee and moving it to Sasuke's face with perceptiveness, cupping his cheek with warm fingers. "As long as I have you, I am happy and fulfilled. That alone is, and will always be, enough." Sasuke inhaled sharply through his nose, a wave of guilt an affection running through him. "It saddens me that you don't feel the same way."  
  
But Sasuke did feel the same way. Itachi was his everything, the one person who was there, had always been there through it all, the one who protected him and with whom he had shared the best and worst moments of his life. He was all he knew how to cherish in that world of constant fear, struggle and darkness, and he wouldn't trade him for all of Tanagura.  
  
Still, while Itachi was strong, he lacked the same ambition Sasuke possessed. For him, Sasuke was enough, but Sasuke himself felt hollow, unsatisfied, knowing of their potential. No matter how much he wished Itachi could be enough, nothing was enough to him at that point.  
  
Still, he swallowed hard and leaned forward, pressing his lips roughly to his brother's in hopes that with that, he could express what he wanted to say but didn't know how to.  
  
It didn't last as much as he had hoped, because Itachi pressed his palm flat against his chest, pushing him away gently before he even had the time to turn the kiss into something more intimate.  
  
Itachi stood up once again, and Sasuke would've pouted, but he didn't want him to notice how frustrated he felt all of a sudden.  
  
"Let's go to bed, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow," his brother said, promptly turning his back to him and walking away.  
  
With an annoyed sigh, Sasuke rubbed his eyes tiredly before getting up and following after his sibling.  
  


oOo

  
Sasuke was leaning on the surface of a silvery tall and thick street lamp, arms crossed over his chest as his dark eyes scrutinized the busy nocturnal streets around him. Hundreds of bodies moved in front of him, most of them richly dressed, some by themselves, some accompanied by others, all of them eager to go shopping, to spend a few hours at the casino, or just to head out to wherever it was they worked at. A few, finely primped women could be seen here and there, and whenever one of them laughed, all the surrounding male passersby turned their heads to watch her with the utmost respect, to listen to that holy sound that resounded like a long lost melody.  
  
The young Uchiha was rather fond of Midas in a very detached way. He appreciated the fact that it transmitted a sort of more positive aura than Ceres; that alone was enough for him to feel remotely pleased about being there.  
  
His left wrist was elegantly placed upon the curve of his elbow, where a thin, crystalline bracelet was hidden underneath the hem of a thin black glove. The simple device was tightly wrapped around the skin and it pulsated gently against his own, steady, pulse. It was an invention of Itachi's, very discreet and useful in situations where they had to work at an unsafe distance from each other. Each of them carried a bracelet that pulsated according to the other's heartbeat. It was useful because, according to how fast their cardiac rhythm was, they just knew if the other was in danger and could always barge in to help them out.  
  
As it was, Sasuke was patiently waiting for his brother, who had immersed himself into a nearby secluded corner to retrieve information on their newest assignment.  
  
Apparently, someone had been hacking the central system of Tanagura, messing up some of the input and output networks. According to Katze - the main bigwig of the Black Market – the person was either very clever of very reckless, and their intent was probably to hack directly into Jupiter's system. To which purpose, no-one knew, but even if the situation was under control for the time being, the Council of Tanagura wished for the individual to be found and immediately taken care of before greater damage was done.  
  
Since Katze had once been trusted by the deceased most influential man in the big dome, of course he would be the first one to be contacted.  
  
The red-haired man suspected the person was still just messing with their heads, teasing them in order to prepare them for what was yet to come.  
  
Sasuke found it all very amusing. Truth be told, he admired the person's balls. He and Itachi had been in the assassination business a few years previously, when they were still struggling to be known and remembered for their efficiency, but they had given up on it as soon as they had enough contacts go sustain themselves. The dark-haired one wasn't all that happy to go back to that, but the amount of funds they had been offered had been too high for refusal. Higher than anything they had ever earned, actually.  
  
But finding out who the person was, was proving to be an arduous task. It had to be someone of reasonable breeding, or at least someone residing among someone who was, in order to be able to access to all the required technology for the effect.  
  
Trying to step inside Tanagura was too risky, so Itachi was focused on meeting face to face with every hacker on the list Katze had given them. Sasuke knew that his brother was able to read criminals' minds like they were his own, so if any of those hackers were to blame, Itachi would definitely be able to know. If they weren't, at least he could pay for them to try and track the source of the main informatics attack.  
  
Still, all those underground moves were risky because no-one worked alone these days. Just like Sasuke and his brother served as each other's backup, many had large groups of men as theirs.  
  
Sasuke was all dressed in fine but flexible black garments, what with pants and top that hugged his body in a most flattering way. The jacket he wore was of a shiny material and was opened, but the hood had been pushed upwards, covering his rebellious midnight hair from the eyes of strangers. Even though Mongrels were free to circulate through Midas, it was best to keep a low profile, albeit how much of a contrast his clothes made to the exuberant colors of the citizens there.  
  
He was standing across the street from a very expensive restaurant not many could afford. In between both sidewalks, a few city spaceships passed him by or parked nearby in all their pomp.  
  
Absently, once in a while he would rub the bracelet to feel his brother's pulse under his fingertips. It had remained rather normal for the last hour or so, but Sasuke couldn't afford to relax because things could get unexpectedly ugly.  
  
Still, he was already feeling rather bored when something suddenly caught his mind's attention like an annoying buzz. The presence was out of his field of vision at the time, but his eyes soon scanned the area to look for the source of the feeling and soon found it.  
  
Not _something_ , but _someone_. Someone like many he had seen in his life and yet, so very different.  
  
For some reason, his stomach fell all the way to his feet as if it were made of pure iron.  
  
 _A Blondy_.  
  
The other seemed to be alone and had just stepped out of the restaurant and into the crowded street. Even though he had leaned his back on the show window, people courteously walked around him so as to not walk too close to his inherently imposing body.  
  
Blondys tended to dress pompously no matter what they did or where they went. They possessed long hair that usually went all the way down to their thighs, and all of them were taller than the common citizens of Midas since they were created by Jupiter itself and that particular feature was supposed to be common in a Blondy.  
  
This… _person_ , however, defied all these strict parameters.  
  
The man looked young, almost Sasuke's age, really, and was about his height, probably taller, but not by much. Even though his clothes were obviously made of the best materials one could afford, they had none of the arrogance other Blondys used to carry. He wore a plain pair of white trousers underneath a fine white shirt. A very light, flowing blue cape adorned his shoulders, two bits of its fabric attached to the shirt near each breast with silvery pins that resembled swirls.  
  
His golden hair was cut short and looked positively wild, sticking out in every direction as if the man had no sense of pride in his looks. In each cheek, there were three well-defined brownish lines marking features that had been sculpted to perfection. His skin was a light caramel tone unlike the pale ivory most Blondys took pride in.  
  
The man was wearing a pair of orange sunglasses that were horribly fitting and yet, Sasuke could see that his eyes were big and way too vulnerable.  
  
That person was no ordinary Blondy. Sasuke acknowledged the breed, but he wasn't like _them_.  
  
 _A prototype?_ Sasuke wondered, tensing up as the annoying sense of overwhelm struck him. _No, definitely a failed specimen. But why is he alive?_  
  
Jupiter was believed to hold a perfect existence, but Katze had already confessed that it, too, failed in creating its most precious race once in a while. The failures, however, were disposed of as soon as they were deemed unworthy. In Tanagura, there was no room for failure.  
  
So see such a person alive was shocking. That Blondy was nothing but flawed, his mere prevalence should be considered a nuisance, a sin amongst his co-habitants of Tanagura.  
  
Then why was he _alive_?  
  
People around the man eyed him in wonder, but not with the fear, idolization and respect that were common towards a Blondy – they eyed him in awe and in confusion, unsure of what to think, much like they eyed Sasuke most of the times, pretending he wasn't as attractive as many of his kind claimed him to be.  
  
To Sasuke, however, he shone brighter than all those artificial lights in the noisy city. He was, without a doubt, the most striking being he had ever seen.  
  
Even if deficient according to Tanagura's standards, the man was unbelievably handsome.  
  
His strong hands were abnormally naked as he shoved them inside his pockets to retrieve a purple pack of cigarettes. He opened the pack and took out one of the dark sticks, bringing it to his lips. He was probably waiting for someone.  
  
Sasuke swallowed hard, his muscles becoming rock hard with tension.  
  
As the Blondy lit the cancer stick with an expensive-looking orange lighter, Sasuke lost the will to blink or even breathe.  
  
So he stared, watching every move the other man made.  
  
The noises of the world faded to nothingness, his blood pumping through his body and flowing with unnatural speed thanks to the fast pace of his heart.  
  
Absently, he considered loosening up the bracelet in his wrist so as to not alarm Itachi, but just then, those big eyes landed upon him and he found himself unable to do it.  
  
The Blondy had felt his heavy gaze and was now gazing back. If he felt surprised, he didn't show it. His expression was unusually open but careful as well. He looked only vaguely curious.  
  
They stared at each other, ignoring the rustling of bodies around them and the noises of the passing cars and spaceships.  
  
After what felt like forever, the Blondy balanced the cigarette between his lips and brought one elegant hand to his glasses to remove them.  
  
Sasuke's lungs constricted even more as those big orbs gleamed like jewels and attacked his own defiantly.  
  
They were like blue lanterns, aiming at him like an accusing spotlight.  
  
Sasuke's muscles trembled with many raging emotions then, as a rush of unfamiliar pleasure ran through his body at being scrutinized by those strong, powerful eyes.  
  
There was this intensity to that person that Sasuke had never seen before, like… resolve, poise, affirmation.  
  
He wanted more. He wanted to see that man react, frown, express himself because he was more capable of that than any other Blondy - Sasuke just _knew it_.  
  
With cautious and agile movements, the Uchiha uncrossed his arms and brought his gloved hands to the hood of his jacket. Slowly, he pulled it back completely to reveal the strands of his dark hair.  
  
The Blondy's fine eyebrows quirked upwards in apparent surprise at something Sasuke didn't know what it was. He took a long drag in the cigarette before removing it from his mouth and letting it fall gracelessly to the ground. Narrowing his eyes, he expelled the smoke in an almost sensuous way.  
  
It caused Sasuke's pants to become painfully tight.  
  
Without really thinking, he stretched out his arm and pointed both his index and middle finger at the Blondy, almost hitting someone. The person's protests were left unheard, though. Sasuke then brought the tips of the same fingers to his own lips in a gesture he hoped could be understood.  
  
The Blondy smirked slightly and shook his head from side to side, looking amused. His hand rose to where Sasuke could see it, and he moved it, gesturing for him to come closer.  
  
Sasuke didn't need to be told twice. Without really looking to check out for any spaceships on the road, he just walked straight ahead, crossing it and disregarding everything and everyone that could come in between him and the Blondy that held his gaze so steadily.  
  
When he got about three steps away from him, he barely registered the other's movements as something was thrown his way and he caught it with quick reflexes of his left hand. He didn't need to look to see that it was the Blondy's pack of cigarettes.  
  
Squeezing it possessively between his fingers, he never left the other's eyes as he took two more steps until they were at arm's reach from each other. Yes, indeed the man was barely taller than him, and nothing pole-like, like the others of his kind.  
  
People kept walking around them, sending suspicious looks their way, but not daring for a second to walk in the space between them since, clearly, the freaky Blondy was socializing to the Mongrel. Wrecked or no wrecked, the Blondy had to be respected no matter what.  
  
Dark eyes glanced over golden and perfect features. He was silently admiring full, pinkish lips when beautiful white teeth made an appearance and the stranger spoke.  
  
"Have I enchanted you, Slum Boy?"  
  
The voice wasn't as grave as he had expected it to be, but the tone was simple and confident and almost, _almost_ made Sasuke shiver. He didn't, because his pride would never allow him to expose himself that much in front of a race he simultaneously envied and despised.  
  
He let out the breath he had been holding since he had spotted the man, but found out he still couldn't breathe easily at all. The unwanted energy the Blondy exhaled was contagious, inescapable. It suffocated him, and yet, that perfectly imperfect being pulled him in like a magnet.  
  
"My name is Sasuke, not 'Slum Boy', and I'm sure that that wouldn't do much to enlarge your already huge ego, Blondy." Sasuke's words were meant to sound sarcastic, but he couldn't seem to form the right tone, nor the right facial expression to match it at that moment, so he ended up being cold and defensive instead, as was usual of him.  
  
The man's smirk grew wider, almost taunting. Those huge, shiny eyes traced invisible patterns over Sasuke's face, evaluating it placidly with open interest. For a second there, Sasuke could've sworn he had seen those eyes gleam with something akin to marvel, but it was soon gone, replaced by a sparkle of genuine curiosity.  
  
Sasuke had never seen such glowing, soul filled eyes in any human being before. It was obvious that the Blondy had a hard time keeping up with his elite façade.  
  
"Well, Sasuke, I suppose you assume my name is 'Blondy', then?" the other said, mockingly shoving one of his hands inside the pockets of his expensive looking trousers, the other dangling at his side, still holding the sunglasses.  
  
"No, I'm sure your name is far more interesting than mine, _your greatness_."  
  
Sasuke was happy that he had managed to spit his scorn out this time.  
  
"Huh…" the Blondy mused, tilting his head to the side gently. "I heard Mongrels had witty mouths. I bet yours can utter the worst kind of trash in spite of that pretty face of yours."  
  
Sasuke refrained from biting his lower lip. The Blondy had just called him 'pretty', and even though he hated being called that – he would inflict all kinds of pain to anyone who even dared throw a smart-assed compliment his way – for some reason, his mind could only process one thing over the comment – the Blondy had noticed him.  
  
"Wouldn't you love to know?" Sasuke purred, in a way that was meant to be both challenging and seductive. He might be getting himself into big trouble, but something told him that his moves were correct. If he played his cards right, that Blondy might just be his free ticket to Tanagura. He could just tell that the man was both too clever and too emotionally exposed for his own good.  
  
Sasuke could bet that all the other Blondys made his life a living hell for that. He could also bet that his words had ignited some kind of flame in him because that smirk was gone.  
  
There was fire in those eyes now; a sudden dark appreciation made itself known there, mixed with something like instant eagerness, automatic need.  
  
Sasuke had to keep a moan from escaping his lips at how much his body reacted to that one, simple look.  
  
Just that _look._ The fucking man hadn't even moved an inch, but that _look_ …  
  
Sasuke knew that, according to The Law, Blondies were forbidden to indulge in any sexual activities. They were allowed voyeurism, though, a purpose to which the Pets were suited for.  
  
Jupiter was cruel leader to his beloveds, and yet, Blondys were created to be the perfect beings, highly intelligent, highly composed and free of inherent needs most humans possessed.  
  
But this Blondy was a failed specimen, and as such, he clearly had desires. Even if he were to be like those considered 'perfect', Sasuke knew that even that race could crumble in the face of something higher than themselves. Jupiter was lucky that not many were confronted with real humanity.  
  
The growl of an engine made itself heard right behind Sasuke, but he ignored it. However, the Blondy didn't.  
  
As fast as the spell had started, it was broken.  
  
The man blinked a few times before clearing his throat and shoving his large orange sunglasses back on his face. He pressed a tiny button on the side of the frames, causing it to make a small, fan-like noise and letting Sasuke know that his image had just been digitalized into the internal memory of the accessory.  
  
The Mongrel was momentarily torn between overjoy and suspicion, and briefly considered if he should attack the man, crush the sunglasses and flee. In the end, he decided to keep his cool. It wasn't as if his record was clean, anyway.  
  
"I expect to have my cigarettes back, Mongrel," the Blondy said, unnecessarily composing his clothes with aristocratic gestures. "I'm sure you'll find me eventually, being the cunning little rat I can just tell you are."  
  
With that, he walked past Sasuke, purposefully bumping into his shoulder with little force – something no Blondy would do, not even out of spite because it would be too disgusting to even be in the same perimeter as a Mongrel – and heading for the large, white spaceship that had just parked nearby.  
  
Sasuke turned around to watch him go, the pack still held firmly in his sweaty grasp, his nerves boiling with uncontrolled excitement.  
  
"No matter how cunning, I'm sure I won't need to search for long if you wish to be found…" Sasuke said after him, confidently. "…by _me_."  
  
The lateral door of the ship hissed and automatically opened upwards to reveal a stunning red interior. There was someone seated on the driver's seat, but he couldn't see the person's face because the Blondy was blocking most of the view.  
  
A blond, spiky head turned to look over a broad shoulder, eyebrows lifted in disbelief. Then, the Blondy let out a short, dry laugh and said something that sounded awfully like "smart little trash" before getting inside the vehicle. The door dropped shut, and since the windows were obscured, the man disappeared from his view completely.  
  
Still, it didn't stop Sasuke from watching as the spaceship roared with life and lifted itself a few feet off the ground. It soared in the same spot for a while before taking off down the road where, at the very end, the busy district would reach its end to allow it to lift off and travel higher above the tall buildings.  
  
With his heart hammering in his chest, and his eyes hypnotized by that which carried someone amazing, the Mongrel didn't even notice that the bracelet was pulsing strongly in his wrist, so when he felt a heavy hand landing on his shoulder, he almost jumped out of his shoes.  
  
He was violently turned around to meet the worried, sweaty face of his older brother.  
  
"What happened?" Itachi panted, at once urgently grabbing his arms and looking at him from up and down as if looking for something out of ordinary in him. "Are you okay? Were you attacked? What was it, where have they gone to?"  
  
Sasuke was rendered speechless, his mind a hazy mess of confusion. For the first time, he didn't register at all what was being said to him.  
  
And then, it dawned on him – the bracelet. His heartbeat. Itachi must have felt it and thought he was in danger and had run to find him.  
  
Only then did he notice that the device was squeezing his skin with strong throbs that signaled Itachi's own, wild heartbeat from the running.  
  
Fuck, he was so damned furious and embarrassed at himself. Had he been that out of control for Itachi to find the need to come to him? How could he explain to his brother that he had just seen, and personally spoken to a fucking defective Blondy for the first time in his life and had thought that the other male was the most fucking perfect thing he had ever seen? How could he tell his brother that he had never felt so attracted to another individual as he had for that person and that the proof was currently protesting the lack of attention inside his pants?  
  
He couldn't. He had never lied to Itachi before, but he just couldn't tell him – Itachi would just crush his dreams once more and he couldn't have that, not when something he had thought almost impossible to happen had just happened to him.  
  
The Blondy had noticed him. He had felt it, that _pull_. He had lured him by saying he wanted his cigarettes back, and Sasuke wouldn't ignore it – he couldn't.  
  
"It's…for a moment I thought I saw this guy we beat up once and I felt uneasy because he had a guy with him that was huge…" Sasuke lied, and then felt horrified at himself at how easily it slipped from his lips. "I'm strong, but I didn't know if I could handle those two by myself and I got nervous. It wasn't him, though; I didn't know I was alarming you, sorry."  
  
Itachi let out a sigh of relief and let him go, running a hand through his hair. A few strands had released themselves from his tight ponytail.  
  
"It's alright, I just got really worried, that's all," he said, still huffing a bit. "What's that?" He then asked, noticing the purple object Sasuke held.  
  
"Just something I found." Once more, the lie came out easily. "You know I don't smoke, but these are the expensive ones, I couldn't just leave them there."  
  
Itachi nodded and Sasuke shoved the pack inside the pockets of his jacket, relieved that he wasn't asked any further questions. After all, they picked stuff from the ground every day.  
  
"Come on, let's get out of here," Itachi said, placing a hand on his lower back to urge him to walk. "I didn't get much information from this guy either, anyway."  
  
They quickly and efficiently moved to avoid colliding with the passersby. They still had work to do and Sasuke just had to focus on that, at least for now.  
  
"What other options have we got?" Sasuke asked through his clenched teeth.  
  
"Two more hackers to question," Itachi explained. "But I'm becoming more and more confident that this person is a resident of Tanagura. No one form the outside can have access to internal information to do shit like that, no matter how good they are. This guy was just telling me that the central system is impossible to hack from the outside, and even from the inside, you have to either be directly involved in those handling Jupiter's main computer or be acquainted to someone that is. So, my guess is, either we have an Elite or even a Blondy trying to destroy Jupiter, or someone has somehow found a way to get inside the central and operate from there."  
  
"While both possibilities seem highly unlikely, that's all we have for now," Sasuke said, with a nod of understanding. His heart was still beating too fast, and the idea of a Blondy planning a _Coup D'état_ was just too exciting after what he had just experienced. "This guy must be a fucking genius."  
  
"Yes, if he is lucky enough to survive and succeed, Jupiter will go down and this world will have a fresh start," Itachi agreed. "I just don't know if it will be for better or for worse."  
  
They kept walking at a fast pace, headed for the location where the next hacker would be. If things went smoothly, they just might get this part out of the way before the night was over.  
  
Still, the feeling of amusement towards that story was now turning into a feeling of resignation because he was working on finding the person who was doing what he had always dreamed he could do just to finish him off. What he was doing was going against everything he stood for. It was like throwing away the best chance of his life.  
  
"This person could change our lives," Sasuke mumbled, as they turned a corner and reached the gambling area. "Killing him seems like such a waste."  
  
Itachi's hand moved from his back to his arm, sliding down over it and grabbing his hand firmly.  
  
"We must never place false hopes on someone whose ideals we know nothing about," Itachi muttered seriously. "For all we know, this person is just trying to take Jupiter's place. He may even want to annihilate all races to let the Blondy prevail. We can't just assume he will be our savior, Sasuke, when he might as well be our slaughterer."  
  
Sasuke couldn't argue with that. Still, he tended to believe that someone with guts like that just had to be good.  
  
Refraining from commenting further, he gripped Itachi's hand and kept walking.  
  
Whatever, he now had something hopefully good to look up to.  
  


oOo

  
"Ino, I need a favor from you."  
  
 _"You're awfully demanding lately. Should I start keeping track of how many favors you owe me already?"_  
  
"You're my right arm, my love, I have no-one else I can trust. You know that you'll be rewarded if things go as I'm expecting them to."  
  
 _"Of course… I'm such an idiot for always listening to your crap. I swear I'll never forgive you if things go wrong for me."_  
  
"I love you, too."  
  
 _"What do you want? I haven't got all day."_  
  
"I need you to find information on a Mongrel named Sasuke. I'm sending you his picture right now."  
  
 _"... Oh… he's very handsome for a Mongrel."_  
  
"I know."  
  
 _"What do you need the information for?"_  
  
"Because I need an ally."  
  
 _"You already have one in the Slums."_  
  
"Our network has to grow, Ino."  
  
 _"Admit it; you're just dying to fuck him. One thing is good, though, if you do it in Ceres, you won't get caught."_  
  
"I don't want to fuck him. At this point I'd be glad to just fuck anything that moves. Fucking laws…"  
  
 _"Whatever. What's with this guy, then?"_  
  
"There's something about his eyes that kind of reminds me of me. He's smart. He's got spunk, he has ambition, I could just feel it. I have a feeling he's connected to the BM. Besides, as far as we're concerned, the people in Ceres are the only ones we don't have to worry about."  
  
 _"Hum… if you say so. Let me check him out and I'll get back to you."_  
  
"Thank you."  
  
 _"Naruto?"_  
  
"What is it?"  
  
 _"You and I… we are tainted material. I don't know why Jupiter allowed us to live, but even if we've been living comfortably in the middle of other Blondys, we are still wrecked specimens. Don't push your luck and be careful."_  
  
"You know that careful is my middle name."  
  
 _"Yeah, more like 'careless', you fucking excuse for a Blondy."_  
  
"That's a big talk coming from a hermaphrodite."  
  
The square hologram transmission ceased to show the Blondy woman's beautiful face. Instead, it was now showing all sorts of colorful pixels that emitted a gentle popping sound, but the blond man smiled a bit before readjusting his posterior on the fluffy rotating chair and touching the hologram in front of him. The image shifted and was now showing the picture he had taken of the Mongrel just a few hours previously.  
  
Setting his elbows over the crystal desk of his well-equipped chambers, he joined his fingers together and watched the man with the smile still in check.  
  
The dark haired male sure was a rare beauty, he pondered, observing the narrowed, resolute eyes, the correct features and the small, slightly perked up nose. In spite of how gracious his features were, he held himself with firmness and unfaltering pride. If Naruto were to be honest with himself, he had felt a bit shocked when he had defiantly exposed his hair to him.  
  
Such dark, dark hair Sasuke had, and yet, even that was beautiful. He was a tough one, that's for sure. His clothes were well kept, and even though they weren't of high quality, they were better than anything any common Mongrel could afford, which led Naruto to believe that the man was sure to be involved in some obscure line of work, because no respectable jobs in Ceres could ever pay him enough to wear what he wore.  
  
That made him all the more interesting, all the more desirable in every aspect of his existence.  
  
No pet or furniture Naruto had ever owned had come close to being as gorgeous as Sasuke was, and neither of them had been able to turn him on as fast and as efficiently as him.  
  
For many years Naruto had abided to Jupiter's Laws as an act of thankfulness for having spared him, but as time went by, he did it only out of self-preservation. As it was, no matter how experienced he was at theoretical sex from the many times he had watched others executing it, he had never tried it. In all honesty, apart from his inherent masculine needs – that he took care of by himself in his chambers, Jupiter be damned – he had never really found someone worthy of his attention, someone that would make him want to risk his face in favor of sex.  
  
Until that little kitten from the Slums showed up.  
  
Just looking at Sasuke's image made his nerves tense up, his blood flow faster, and his skin tingle with need. Goosebumps travelled up and down his spine.  
  
He was sure that, being from the Blondy race, he wasn't supposed to feel lust. In fact, he wasn't supposed to feel much of anything at all, and his body, while ready to react to certain stimulus, wasn't meant to feel it. But he was deficient material, so there were a lot of things wrong with him, and many things that made him pitiful when compared to his Blondy superiors.  
  
Not that he cared. He loved it that, next to the others, he was able to feel and be more human than they'd ever be.  
  
He was sure Sasuke would be a passionate lover. Just thinking about it made Naruto's toes curl inside his shoes.  
  
According to a story that had become a reference, Blondys and Mongrels were not meant to be together. They were opposites, fated to repel each other, different as day was from night.  
  
In Tanagura, Iason Mink's death was still mourned even after all those years. The real story behind it was unknow to many, but Naruto, fascinated by its mystery, had researched it thoroughly and had actually come across a lot of interesting things. He had found secret, highly confidential data - documents, videos, phone calls - that linked him to Iason's story with a feisty, rather attractive Mongrel named Riki, whom he had taken in as an uncooperative  
Pet and bedding him. It had been the biggest scandal Tanagura had ever seen. Having Iason perishing because of a Mongrel was too much, so the Council of Blondys had buried everything concerning the incident to keep Iason's integrity as intact as they could. After all, no Blondy had been as efficient and influencial as Iason, and Jupiter hadn't loved one as greatly as it had loved him.  
  
The fact that Herbay collapsed that day as well, killing hundreds of people seemed meaningless.  
  
No-one cared about Riki's whereabouts. Most thought he had escaped to another planet and was still alive somewhere. But Naruto knew Riki had willingly died with Iason in that collapse. In spite of all the evidence stating otherwise, Naruto believed that Riki had loved Iason, and their relationship hadn't been as seemingly abusive as one would think.  
  
But an unfortunate love affair could not serve as a model for how the world worked these days. It was to prove stories like those wrong that he was working his way towards a new Era and a new world where justice would prevail over any race or prejudice. If anything, Iason and Riki's story only allowed him to understand that even the most perfect Blondy was flawed, and that something as seemingly under rated as love was strong enough to defy all laws and to last beyond death. If this world wasn't so wrong, maybe things had been different for those two.  
  
This made Naruto understand that, if Sasuke was even a little like he thought he was, he would aim towards the same thing. Sasuke had dreams and ideals. Hopefully they matched Naruto's.  
  
Perfection could, and would, be achieved.  
  
His life sure was becoming interesting lately, Naruto concluded, licking his lips and inhaling deeply, electric blue eyes glued to Sasuke's dark, powerful ones.  
  
How he wished Sasuke was thinking about him right then.  
  


oOo

  
Unknowing of Naruto's thoughts, Sasuke was, in fact, thinking about the Blondy.  
  
With Itachi sound asleep in their bedroom, Sasuke was back in the living room. Dawn was approaching slowly, but the midnight haired male had never felt so aware in his life. Leaning on the windowsill, he twirled one of the Blondy's unlit dark cigarettes on his fingers, watching the thing as if it was a rare jewel.  
  
He licked his lips once, twice, and then brought the filter to his lips for a few seconds before licking them again. It left the taste of something sweet there and he automatically made a face.  
  
The Blondy – whose name he never got to know – liked sweets. It was unfair that, apart from some sort of physical attraction, they seemed to have nothing in common, not even tobacco or the aversion of sweet things Sasuke had.  
  
The brunet sighed and looked out to the horizon where Tanagura stood out, beautiful and majestic.  
  
The Blondy was there, right now, probably sleeping, oblivious to the fact that Sasuke was restless, his mind replaying their encounter over and over again.  
  
They would meet again, he knew it. Even if the Blondy forgot all about him, even if they were not fated to, Sasuke would most definitely find a way to return the cigarettes to him and steal something from him. He wanted more memories with the Blondy, more of… something. He wanted it so bad he could barely relax such was the adrenaline running all over his system.  
  
Tomorrow. Tomorrow he would find him and make sure he didn't lose sight of him anytime soon.


	2. Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not betaed.

  
**Rebellious Will**

  


**Part II**

****  
  
In the center of the cracked ceiling, an old metallic fan was working noisily as it provided a scarce relief in that hot afternoon. Weak rays of light peaked through the dark, worn out blinds, filling the room with unnecessary illumination.  
  
With his wrist resting over his sticky forehead and one hand over his pounding chest, Sasuke lay naked on his back on a rumpled bed that wasn’t his, but that he already knew far too well for his own liking. His semi-closed eyes stared at a particularly deep gash on the ceiling unfocusedly as he tried to steady his raged breathing.  
  
For some strange reason, a strong sense of peace had taken over him and he couldn’t understand what exactly had triggered it in the first place. It could be thanks to the fact that he had finally released all his pent up frustrations through sex, but then again, maybe it was just because he had just had sex with someone that wasn’t at all the person he should have been fucking in the first place.  
  
In wonder, he questioned himself. How could something like that ever give him peace? And yet, there it was – that momentary post-sexual bliss, and the feeling of calm and placidness that made him feel as if all the things that tormented his very existence were meaningless.  
  
Sasuke didn’t really know why he had been feeling so emotionally and physically affected by the whole world in general lately. He, who was usually so composed and kept his blood as cold as ice most of the time, didn't really understand why every little thing seemed to affect him and get on his nerves.  
  
If he were to be honest with himself, he had started feeling that way since he laid eyes on that Blondy in central Midas a few days ago. He had tried to do some research about him – after all, he was probably the only deficient Blondy in all of Tanagura – but not even his darkest resources seemed to find anything particular about said person. How something like that was possible, Sasuke didn’t know, but it irked him and angered him like nothing else before. It made him feel useless and inefficient as well, and that was something he did not enjoy feeling, especially because the nagging fear that he might never see the other man again was coiling in the pit of his stomach.  
  
He had searched all over Midas, had tried to walk around Tanagura to see if he could get a glimpse of the Blondy, but to no avail. As far as he knew, the man might not even exist.  
  
Sasuke carried the pack of cigarettes with him everywhere, refusing to give in to his fear and to accept that they probably weren't meant to meet again. He was confident that, sooner or later, he would bump into him once more, and this certainty was actually something that overwhelmed him greatly, as did the desire itself of seeing him once more.  
  
Sasuke’s pride denied it, but that same desire had consistently begun to border on a healthy obsession that he clung to as fiercely as he clung to life.  
  
Still, the restlessness he felt only meant that he was constantly on edge. His emotions felt raw, floating at the surface of his skin, more than ready to come out, uninvited and unwanted.  
  
It wasn't just the Blondy that made him feel this way because, unfortunately, his personal life – or the little one he possessed – wasn’t doing great either, and even though something deep inside him knew it, his irrational side contradicted it.  
  
The small, poorly decorated room reeked of alcohol, sex and tobacco, the scents gentle soothers for Sasuke’s rampant soul.  
  
Beside him, sheets rustled as an equally naked body moved closer, pressing itself to his left side, one leg draping over his thigh, one hand placing itself over his shoulder while calloused fingers rubbed the skin there affectionately. Sasuke could feel a heavy breath ghosting over his ear.  
  
Trying to avoid the complicated feeling of longing that suddenly threatened to consume him then, he simply closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax, not caring about the mess covering his softening cock.  
  
For a long while, he and his companion just lay there in silence as they placated the post-lust adrenaline running through their systems and listened to the natural sounds of the noisy street outside where, apparently, two rival gangs were involved in some serious brawling.  
  
"That was pretty intense, huh?" the young man beside him whispered gently after a few minutes, brushing his knuckles over Sasuke’s jaw, where the sweat had already begun to dry.  
  
"Yeah..." Sasuke, who had already started to doze off, was brought back to a semi-awakened state by the other’s voice.  
  
Lips were pressed to his neck, forcing him to return to full consciousness. More out of habit than of willingness, he lazily turned his head to the side so that said lips could now be pressed to his as he allowed himself to be kissed and slowly kiss back in the simplest of gestures.  
  
"You know, Sasuke...” Kiba muttered, once they broke the contact. Sasuke noticed the seriousness in his tone and felt him moving away slightly, which made him open his eyes so that he could see the face of his childhood friend leaning over his. Kiba was still very close, supporting his weight on one elbow. "We've known each other for a long time now, so I can say that I know you enough to understand your mood swings."  
  
Sasuke blinked up and gazed at Kiba’s dark brown eyes.  
  
"Is that so?" He asked, in an equally serious tone.  
  
"I can tell you're frustrated."  
  
The straightforwardness took Sasuke by surprise, but he refrained from letting it show on his face.  
  
"Hn..." was all he said, averting his eyes from the other man and staring up at the ceiling once more.  
  
Was he that vulnerable already that even Kiba had to notice something was different about him?  
  
"Look, I know you and Itachi love each other," Kiba sighed, moving his hand from his shoulder to place it over Sasuke’s, on his chest. "It's always been that way as far as I can remember, but I don't think the two of you are looking at the same things anymore." Kiba’s words made Sasuke’s muscles tense, and seeing this, the brown haired male squeezed Sasuke’s hand a bit tighter. "It's not a bad thing; it just means that you should probably move on and find yourself a true _Pairing Partner_. “  
  
Sasuke didn’t like many people, nor did he allow just anyone into his heart or his life, even though he pretended he did to sustain some very valuable contacts. Sasuke and Itachi’s 'Mother' had been one of the many preceptors that educated kids at _Guardian_ , where every other child lived until they were legally old enough to stand on their own feet. Even after her death, Itachi and Sasuke remained in the foster house as all the other so-called 'orphans', and that’s when they met Kiba, a cheery, big-mouthed boy that always forced them to smile even when they didn’t want to.  
  
Itachi had been 11 and Sasuke had been 6 at the time. Sasuke trusted Kiba, cared for him and valued him as a friend, but even though they worked together in the most famous bar in Ceres, his not so recent relationship with Itachi and his darker line of work had forced them apart. They still saw each other frequently ince they worked together, and were there for each other in times of need – or when the other needed desperately to get laid.  
  
Still, the Uchiha tried not to let anyone see his true motivations in life, nor his true self or his feelings because, in rotting Ceres, that would be the same as digging his own grave. However, somehow Kiba always managed to see right through him, and it both scared and annoyed him to no end. His friend had no right to stick his nose into his private life and just unveil it as he pleased.  
  
It also annoyed him that he knew where the conversation was headed.  
  
“You and I…” Kiba pressed on, evident hope filling his voice. “We could…”  
  
There it was.  
  
"My answer remains the same, Kiba,” Sasuke snapped as his patience wavered and he shook Kiba’s hand away violently, action that didn’t startle him at all. “I already have a _Pairing Partner_ , and that’s final.”  
  
Sasuke freed himself from his friend’s embrace and sat down on the bed, a scowl marking his handsome features as an overwhelming sense of irritation assaulted him.  
  
“That’s not true, and you know it!” Kiba barked harshly, sitting up as well with practiced ease. “Believing Itachi is _The One_ is convenient, but we both know he is not enough for you; that’s why you always come to me, and that’s why you sometimes like to fuck around with other guys. If he was _The One_ , you wouldn’t need it, Sasuke. Don’t lie to yourself just because you’re afraid of leaving something that you’ve accommodated yourself to.”  
  
Sasuke’s head snapped to the side to look at Kiba then, his eyes wide. The other male usually spoke his mind, but he never did it with such pain and iced frustration before, yet the dead on truth of his words stabbed Sasuke’s ego like a long, sharp needle.  
  
They stared at each other for a while before Kiba bit his bottom lip viciously.  
  
“You and Itachi have become different people over the years,” he proceeded, now in a quieter tone, running his hand through his messy hair. “If you don’t let yourself find someone else, you’ll end up alone and bitter, because he’s not going to give you what you want. Itachi is… he fucks around, too, because he’s got boundaries when it comes to you. I feel sorry for you. Why are you letting yourself be trapped by him? Why don’t you at least try to _be_ with someone else?”  
  
Sasuke swallowed hard – his mouth tasted of bile. It was true that he loved Itachi more than anything in the whole world, and that the thought of them alone made him feel safe and wanted and _loved_ , not for his looks, but for who he was. Nonetheless, it was also true that things hadn’t been the same between them as they had been in the start.  
  
They had become intimate six years previously, and it had all been about them back then, in times when they struggled to live, to carve their names in the BM, to come to terms with what was becoming of them and the path they had chosen to follow. It was all about danger, fear and excitement and all this brought them close, made them want to find comfort in each other’s arms and in the blissfulness of passionate lovemaking.  
  
Sasuke had no idea when all of that changed, stopped being amazing to become routine until the interest faded and the desire subsided. As they got older, Itachi became colder and distanced himself, so focused in protecting them as he was, and Sasuke, still being too young for Itachi’s maturity, still craved for that intimacy and that passion but found himself being pushed away, over and over again. Now he didn’t even know how to let Itachi know that he still needed them, that he still felt that same flame, but that he feared that it might die soon.  
  
“A _Pairing Partner_ is…” he started, trying to find within himself something he had once believed was real but that now seemed blurry – his past with his older brother seemed distorted, as did the days when he truly believed they were better halves. “Itachi and I, we…”  
  
The words got stuck in his mouth. He couldn’t describe it at all, but he was supposed to, right? People knew how it felt to have a _Pairing Partner_ – he used to know.  
  
Not remembering the feeling shocked him.  
  
Kiba huffed at his sudden stiffening, noticing Sasuke's shoulders slacking.  
  
“See?” he mumbled in commiseration, reaching out to run his fingers through Sasuke’s midnight hair softly, intimately. “Even if you don’t want _me_ , you know how many guys out there would kill to get their hands on you. Just… move on, Sasuke, or you’ll be stuck in this dumpster forever. And you’re so much better than this. You deserve better, too.”  
  
Sasuke blinked owlishly at Kiba, scanning through charming but not special features. Loneliness, he realized, was a drug that was running through his veins and seemed to be intoxicating him more from day to day. Looking at Kiba only made it feel all the more painful, and yet, even though he knew it didn’t quench his raging need for something, for _more_ , his friend’s presence felt like a blanket that wrapped itself around him, comfortable and motionless, and all he wanted was to hold it and press it closer, to suffocate himself and his disgusting sorrows in it.  
  
Kiba eyed him back with serenity now and offered him a weak smile. After he placed his chin over Sasuke’s shoulder, the black haired one didn’t really fight it and pressed his slightly open mouth to Kiba’s forehead in a gesture than was hungrier than it was respectful.  
  
“Kiba…” Sasuke whispered blankly, his dark grey eyes scanning the brown reddish strands of Kiba’s unruly hair. “Do you love me?”  
  
“Does it matter for future reference?” Kiba joked bitterly, biting gently at his pale shoulder.  
  
Sasuke thought about it for a few seconds, weighing the consequences of what Kiba answer might or might not mean to him.  
  
“Not really,” he ended up saying, and Kiba actually chuckled.  
  
“Then no, I don’t love you,” Kiba replied in a dry whisper. His arm moved to wrap itself around Sasuke’s neck, bringing him closer until their temples touched. Sasuke’s eyes fell shut when Kiba’s free hand touched the inside of his thigh with light, teasing fingers that trailed upwards, tickling his groin while cleverly avoiding his cock. Sasuke’s back straightened and his breath caught in the back of his throat, but he didn’t protest – that was beneath him. “I do think I’d be a good _Pairing Partner_ for you, though, even if you’re such a distant bastard. I do love it when we fuck.”  
  
“Hn…”  
  
The next thing he knew, Kiba was moving nimbly to straddle his hips and pushing him back so that he was lying down once more. Sasuke’s eyes shot open but he didn’t fight it, simply watching his friend with slight curiosity as Kiba’s hands roamed over his chest sensuously.  
  
“Hey,” Kiba said casually. “I really hope you listen to me for once and find yourself someone good. Until then, my door is always open for you.”  
  
The last sentence carried a heavy but poorly concealed sadness to it that Sasuke didn’t want to think about and, knowing Kiba as he did, he wouldn’t want him to acknowledge it.  
  
Kiba was an honest person, thus a terrible liar. For a moment, the Uchiha felt sorry for him, and for himself, and wished that he wasn’t so hard to reach, so hard to impress – wished that his heart knew how to love more than it did.  
  
He was tired of excessive feelings pilling up inside of him – or the lack of them thereof. He wanted to let go, to forget.  
  
_I just want to drown…_  
  
Like a Phoenix rising from its own ashes, Sasuke wanted a fresh start, a new light ahead of him. He didn’t wish to change himself, his desires, to turn into someone he wasn’t, because he was proud of his strength, of who he had become.  
  
Was wishing for more such an unforgiving sin? Was he a bad person for not settling for what was offered to him, for not playing safe?  
  
Why should he settle for simplicity when he knew he was worthy of more?  
  
Why shouldn’t he dream when reality was so boring and painful?  
  
And all of a sudden, Sasuke didn’t wish he was more reachable at all, neither did he feel sorry for Kiba, who was definitely better off not hooking up with someone who would never know how to appreciate him, and he knew it.  
  
Why complicate the _now_ when Mongrels were forced to live each day and make the most out of it? In Ceres, tomorrow, a perfectly healthy man could be dead in the blink of an eye and no-one would even look twice at his decaying corpse.  
  
Affliction gripped at Sasuke’s heart, but he shoved it aside before the hurricane of his emotions got the best out of him.  
  
He didn’t want to think about Ceres, or Itachi, or that insufferable Blondy whose piercing eyes like diamonds didn’t allow his mind to rest and inflamed every cell in his body.  
  
He just wanted to forget, even if for a little while.  
  
“Thank you.” Sasuke replied instead, reaching out until both his hands were cupping Kiba’s face. “Just…please, shut up and fuck me.”  
  
Kiba’s eyes narrowed at him but he all but nodded in silent understanding.  
  
“Sure,” He said solemnly, leaning down obediently and pressing their bare chests together until both could feel the other’s heartbeat and their mouths were a breath away from each other. “Anything you want, Sasuke.”  
  
It didn’t matter that their hearts didn’t beat in tune at all.

oOo

  
“Are you seriously going through with this, even after all the information about that Mongrel I provided you with? Information that, mind you, was very hard to get.”  
  
“Yes,” Naruto acquiesced, looking at himself in the large mirror of the sumptuous blue bathroom in his quarters and fixing his hair with the tips of his fingers. “That is exactly what I’m going to do. I don’t care about that information, Ino; it just made me want to go see him even more.”  
  
Ino huffed behind him, and Naruto gazed at her reflection in the mirror just as she was crossing her arms over her large breasts that peeked out from the ‘V’ line of her charming red dress. With a grin, he winked at her, making her blush slightly and pout.  
  
“You look ridiculous,” she mumbled, with her nose stuck up in the air. “I can’t believe you’re going through all this trouble just to meet him. You’ll get yourself into some serious trouble, Naruto. I’m telling you, he’s bad news.”  
  
Naruto merely shrugged with elegance, admiring his reflection and the impressive work he had done. In spite of Ino’s words, he reckoned he looked pretty good, even disguised as Mongrel, and wasn’t sure what amazed him the most – if the fact that he had still managed to look hotter than any average human being, or that he didn’t look like his usual self at all.  
  
Placing his hands over his hips, he turned to his blond friend with pride and grinned at her.  
  
“Can’t you tell I’m looking for trouble?” he inquired playfully. “Seriously, relax, it’ll be fine. As I told you, Sasuke and I have a thing going on between us.”  
  
“You saw him _once_ , you crazy creep! Your Sasuke is a professional criminal working under Katze, an _assassin_ ,” Ino hissed, big blue eyes filled with annoyance and worry. “He and his brother, who, rumor has it, is his lover, are assigned to find who the hacker is and kill him on sight. If this isn’t reason enough for you to back off, I don’t know what else to say to you.”  
  
Naruto’s goofy grin faltered slightly to be replaced by a soft frown at Ino’s defiant stance.  
  
“You were the one saying that Itachi was a good connection because of his brains and his abilities,” he reminded her, shaking his head from side to side.  
  
“Yes, but…”  
  
“You also said that he was known for being the warier of the two, so how am I going to get to him without getting to Sasuke first?”  
  
Ino chewed on her pink bottom lip.  
  
“I’m just telling you that this might backfire,” she mumbled. “I’m worried because you have just become obsessed with this Sasuke guy because he’s attractive and you want him to...”  
  
“Ino…”  
  
“It’s him you want, I can tell you’ve already made up your mind,” the girl interrupted firmly, raising an elegant hand to efficiently silence him, so Naruto pursed his lips together and allowed her to speak. “No-one was ever good enough for you before this, so I understand that, no matter what I tell you, you’ll turn the world upside down to have him, and Itachi is just a plus in all of this, but… I’m still worried that this ideal person might cloud your mind to what he really is; to what those two are. And they are dangerous, Naruto. _Very_ dangerous.”  
  
Naruto heaved a long sigh and scratched the back of his neck. He couldn’t really contradict Ino’s fears because he knew very well the danger he could be getting himself into if things didn’t go according to plan. However, after scanning through the information Ino had presented him, the Uchiha brothers were like a gift the Gods had bestowed upon him, and there was no way in hell that he would ever cower without trying his luck with them. If things turned against him... well, at least he liked to believe his connections in the Slums were faithful enough to protect him, especially since one of them was a convenient acquaintance of Sasuke and Itachi’s.  
  
Of course, it had all started because of Sasuke, whose devious smirk and existence had carved itself into his memory, nagging him day in and day out, stirring up a constant and eager sense of anxiety and unchained lust inside of him.  
  
When Ino said that he had chosen Sasuke, she wasn’t lying, and still, it wasn’t exactly accurate either. Fate had made it so that their paths could cross; the energy they had shared between them had been real, and as such, that meeting hadn’t been meaningless. It wasn’t Naruto who had chosen Sasuke, it was Sasuke who had chosen _him_ , albeit unknowingly, and Naruto’s whole being gave in without thinking twice, because no eyes he had seen had ever stared back at him with such fierce strength, desire, wonder and fascination.  
  
Stepping away from something like that was not an option in Naruto’s book. He had been looked down upon for far too long to ignore such longing, and he didn’t want to, not when he was feeling such powerful, yet confusing emotions for someone for the first time in his nineteen years. He wanted to walk towards it, drown in it – whatever it was – and fall into disgrace with that person – whatever that meant – even if for a short time. For the second time in his life, he was absolutely confident of his motivations and, more than ever, he felt like rebelling against his nature as Blondy.  
  
Even if he wasn’t even considered Elite and was the only Blondy who wasn’t even worthy of being involved with Jupiter or any kind of governmental affairs, he was forced to follow all rules applied to his kind, which was more than unfair.  
  
Not anymore.  
  
He wanted to see Sasuke’s world, know all about Sasuke’s goals, and dig out what lay underneath all that obscure shell that surrounded him. It seemed impossible to him that someone that beautiful on the outside didn’t have a matching interior, especially being 100% human. Even if it was a whim of his, he was all for it. Itachi could be Sasuke’s lover, but he was sure that the younger Uchiha would never look at another man like that if it was serious, right? Naruto had seen too much of the depravities of the human soul to condemn anything as trivial as an incestuous relationship.  
  
No, not a relationship, a _kink_ is what he believed it was.  
  
Something inside of him was sure that he and that elegant wild creature were on the same page and that removed all remnants of fear towards him from his mind, making him all the more exciting to Naruto.  
  
So he took a step closer to his beautiful female friend, trying not to let her sad eyes discourage him, and wrapped his arms around her slender neck. Carefully, he leaned down and pressed his lips chastely to hers.  
  
“I’ll be fine,” he assured her with a smile, stroking the top of her blond head as she looked at him like a pouting child. “I have to do this or I won’t be able to live with myself not knowing if I could have succeeded. If I can get those two on our side, we’ll be one step closer to our goal. Through them we’ll be able to know every move of Jupiter’s and strike back. They could be the double agents we’ve been looking for.”  
  
Ino sighed shakily but ended up nodding, using her left hand to caress his cheek lightly, so as to not ruin the concealing makeup on his skin.  
  
“I can’t stop you,” she whispered, in resignation. “I wish I could come with you. As it is, please, Naruto, be careful and come back safe. Don’t cross the line if things don’t go your way. Promise me you won’t be reckless.”  
  
Naruto all but acquiesced and kissed her rosy cheek.  
  
“I won’t be reckless as far as risking my own life goes,” he promised, with false solemnness. “I can’t say the same thing about everything else I’m planning for tonight, though.”  
  
Ino smacked him across the head and he laughed out loud, feeling rather relaxed in spite of her concerns.  
  
Nothing in the world could shake his excitement and the bright certainty that, sooner or later, he would have his way.  
  
For now, all he wanted was to see Uchiha Sasuke – the criminal – again and, hopefully, be tainted by him. 

oOo

  
The only reason Ino had been able to find as much information as she had on Sasuke when he was a Slum Mongrel (therefore not an in the possession of any kind of identity card) was simple: he and Itachi had been in jail more times than any decent person should be, so of course, the Department of the Dark Men had been able to gather some valuable information for themselves about them.  
  
Of course, what got them behind bars back then was not anywhere as serious as the real issues that troubled Ino’s mind. Thievery, falsification of documents and illegal supply of illicit substances to some of the most famous brothels in Midas were nothing new coming from Mongrels.  
  
While Katze was the leader of the Black Market, and known in the more intimate circles as one of the most brilliant hackers in Amoy, Ino’s own abilities were certainly a match to his, reason why she had been able to hack into Katze’s own very secure system and retrieve some much needed information on the Uchiha brothers as well as Katze’s most important task until now.  
  
Naruto felt pride in his own share of knowledge on computerized systems, but he was nowhere as good as his gorgeous female friend was, thus making her a valuable right arm.  
  
His heart was beating frantically as he looked out the window of the posh air car through the dark window glass, looking down at the sad wrecks of Herbay (Area 7). His supposed once in a while Pet, Gaara, who was driving, had decided that it was better to take the main road over the buildings so as to avoid unwanted attention and the chaos of traffic since all the area belonging to Midas was always such a massive confusion of people and vehicles.  
  
The night sky was cloudy, a heavy mist making it almost impossible to see the two moons that had both already arisen. A little dejected, Naruto noticed that the bigger one was full, while the slightly smaller one was at a last quarter. He loved it when they weren’t matching, and yet, the spectacle was hard to see that night. He suspected that it would rain, too.  
  
“Ino is right," Gaara said in his monotone voice, breaking the peaceful silence. "You _are_ absolutely crazy."  
  
Naruto turned his head to look at the man beside him quizzically.  
  
Gaara was the kind of person Naruto genuinely liked. He had come from the Slums, possessing the kind of exotic beauty many longed to put their eyes, hands and other body parts on, and held himself with a steady, yet peaceful demeanor.  
  
At thirteen, a few months after leaving Guardian, he was abducted by a wealthy man while strolling about Ainis (Area 4) that immediately sold him to the Black Market to be auctioned as a low class Pet. After having been purchased by some newly rich woman, who quickly became tired of him, she was ready to throw him away back to the streets or sell him to some brothel when he and Naruto crossed paths in Tanagura. He remembered how his gut had twitched then with the immediate need to have that person because something about that stranger was worth it.  
  
Gaara had been fifteen at the time, when Naruto paid a lot of money to make him his Pet, not because he had any type of particular desire to use him as such, but because making him Furniture would provide him with an even lower social status. Gaara was a good looking guy, but Naruto never really considered putting his position as a Pet to good use, even if, once in a while, he was required to show him off in public and take him to those lascivious _soirees_ where Pets were supposed to “enjoy” themselves in the so called “Sex Parties” while their masters watched. Gaara didn’t mind that part all that much, and even if Naruto himself had no intention or desire to engage in any kind of sexual intimacy with him, he had to admit that his quiet and smart friend could most certainly put on a show, at least as far as visual stimulation went.  
  
Once in a while, Naruto removed Gaara of his status as Pet and turned him into a servant until he was forced to reverse the roles again. Since Gaara wasn’t a pure Pet, laws forbade him to be registered as one for too long, and because Blondys usually had androids as servants instead of humans, of course Naruto had to keep changing Gaara’s status to keep him under his wing. The only reason he got away with it was because his own low social status in Tanagura made these little details insignificant in the eyes of others.  
  
Gaara was highly faithful to him, and Naruto trusted him with his life.  
  
"Someone has to be crazy and make a move; otherwise we'll be stuck in this life for another fifty years and the world won’t change at all." Naruto answered, the corner of his mouth lifting up slightly.  
  
Gaara didn’t seem convinced.  
  
"You know I admire you and respect you above anyone else," Gaara said, his marine eyes throwing a sideway glance at the Blondy. "But are you seriously going through with this? You're going to let that person taint you? Someone who might end up killing you if his ideals don't match yours?"  
  
"I'm not thinking about that at all," Naruto replied, shrugging slightly with his hands resting simply over his lap. "I can’t get over him. It's what I want, and if he wants it as well, then I'll be happy. Whatever comes after that is another, very different story."  
  
When Gaara pursed his lips tightly together and fixed his gaze on the road, Naruto didn’t know if he should feel amused or exasperated.  
  
"Look, Katze would be the perfect weapon, but I don't know how to get through to him," he persisted. "No one does; the guy is the very pillar of the Black Market and is untouchable. So if I can get my hands on Sasuke and Itachi, then maybe, who knows, they'll be able to coerce him into coming to our side."  
  
"Who knows," Gaara groaned, a hint of sarcasm toning his voice. "It's still a risky move. You have no idea what Ceres is like."  
  
"It's a good thing I'm about to, then. I have to know what I'm dealing with if I want to change the world, right?”  
  
Gaara didn’t usually do something as ridiculous and sighing, because if he did, Naruto was sure he would have done it. However, he did allow himself to smile bitterly.  
  
“You’re still crazy,” he muttered, shaking his head from side to side, and Naruto just had to grin. Being crazy felt incredibly good.  
  
The road showed an intersection that offered a descending path towards the center of the crowded Mistral Park, so Gaara took it, and as the car inclined itself, assuming a diving position, the seat belts tightened automatically around their torsos.  
  
As the city grew closer and the buildings wrapped around them, Naruto’s nervousness grew substantially, not out of fear, but out of anxiety, like a child knowing he was on his way to the playground. There was no turning back now.  
  
The car reached the main road and Gaara kept driving in silence, confidently heading to their destination. The streets were, as usual, filled with color and noise - though not as extravagant as Midas since Mistral Park was usually a place of darker businesses - but Naruto didn’t take notice of these facts because all he cared about was that he was getting closer to Ceres, closer to his goal and, hopefully, closer to Sasuke.  
  
The excitement was suddenly enough to make his stomach lurch.  
  
“Do you have the map?” Gaara asked unexpectedly, waking up the Blondy from his thoughts.  
  
“Huh?” Naruto asked, eyeing his friend absently.  
  
“The map to _Arthleth_ ,” the red haired one repeated, dryly. “Naruto, you need to be more focused or you’ll get the shit beat out of you as soon as you cross the border.”  
  
“I know; I was just spacing out for a while,” Naruto apologized. “I have the map, don’t worry.”  
  
“You have the gun and the communicator?”  
  
Naruto felt the pockets of his jacket.  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“Good. Don’t get in trouble,” Gaara pressed on, as if talking to a child. “Don’t wander the streets, it’s dangerous. Go straight to _Arthleth_. Don’t let Sasuke take you anywhere else no matter what he says, and even if Sasuke isn’t there, you stay in the bar and wait for…”  
  
“I know, Gaara!” Naruto groaned, frowning at his companion in annoyance. “I know, alright? We’ve gone through this a million times already! You’re just getting on my nerves and you’re not helping at all!”  
  
“Well, excuse me for worrying about you,” Gaara snapped, with equal annoyance. “You do realize that you’re going on your own, don’t you? Because I can’t step inside Ceres again, Naruto, my chip will poison me, and even if I would give me life for you, it would be useless if...”  
  
“I’ll be fine!”  
  
Naruto was getting seriously tired of saying the same thing over and over again. He was aware that he was asking for trouble, stepping foot in Ceres alone knowing little to nothing about the place, but that didn’t mean he would screw up or that he'd be getting himself willingly on a dangerous situation – he wasn’t that dumb. Besides, he had trained his fighting skills enough with his ginger friend over the years, so he was more than confident in his abilities at self-defense.  
  
Gaara cursed softly under his breath and kept his mouth shut, a welcomed relief. Despite knowing that he had backup in Ceres and that he might not be alone for long, Naruto needed time to accommodate to the idea of what was about to happen, of what he was going to do, and get ready to dive into something unknown for the first time.  
  
Gaara was forced to slow the car down because of the traffic, so it would still be a while before they reached the borders. Once more, Naruto looked out the window, eyes casually roaming over the crowded avenue - he wondered if there was an auction going on tonigh - only slightly marveled but barely noticing anything in particular, breathing in and out a few times to try and calm down the expectancy of a new adventure that turned his nervous system into a rampant chaos.  
  
Then, an inexplicable psychological pull forced his vision to aim at a dark alley and focus on one particular form emerging from it. In a matter of milliseconds Naruto was consumed by a violent tremor that shook his body from head to toe, his breath stuck in his lungs, and it was with great effort but strong determination that he blurted out a choked “Stop! Stop the car!”  
  
With quick reflexes, taken aback by the outburst, Gaara stepped on the break at once, forcing the vehicle to come to an abrupt halt that almost projected them through the front.  
  
“What?” Gaara asked horrified, watching with wide eyes as Naruto fumbled urgently with the seat belt to unhook it and pressed the button to unlock the door. “What the _hell_ , Naruto?”  
  
“I have to go!” Naruto said, as the door opened upwards and he got out into the cold, windless night without even looking back, moved by some sort of irrational impulse that allowed no time for deliberation.  
  
“But you’re still a few blocks away from the border!” Gaara called, his voice filled with confusion. “Naruto!”  
  
“I’ll page you as soon as I’m in Ceres.” And with that, Naruto closed the door of the car in Gaara’s face and hurriedly crossed the road.  
  
A few people eyed him curiously since he currently didn't look like someone worthy of a car like that at all, but Naruto couldn't care less, for the only thing he wanted was to reach the person he had just seen. There was no mistaking it, his gut was always right, and it seemed like fate was on his side, too. There was no other explanation for how things were turning out for him – for _them_.  
  
Naruto didn’t have to walk much to reach his goal - all it took were a few steps and he found himself about three meters away from the figure he was chasing.  
  
There was absolutely no mistaking it – Sasuke was there, in front of him.  
  
The Gods were smiling upon him, Naruto thought, a feeling of utmost joy invading him to the point of complete mortification as he stood there, rooted to that same spot he had come to a halt on, not even blinking.  
  
The Mongrel was holding a paper bag in his hands, a helmet secure in the crook of his arm, and he was standing on the sidewalk beside an old fashioned but large grey motorbike. For a few seconds, the Blondy’s quick heartbeat became almost painful as his eyes looked Sasuke from head to toe. The man was wearing a pair of well-kept jeans and the same black jacket he had been wearing when they had met, over a white shirt or t-shirt. His black boots were shiny. The Uchiha didn’t look as polished as other civilians, but his natural good-looks and his standoffish pose was something to behold and it drew attentions like a magnet and made that strong sense of awareness run through Naruto’s being like a wave of adrenaline.  
  
Sasuke was magnificent. Maybe it was the confident air about him, maybe it was the contrast of his pale skin with his dark hair. Whatever it was, it was more alluring than any jewel Naruto had ever seen.  
  
The bike had a small tailgate in the back, that Sasuke opened to place the bag inside before closing it.  
  
All it took was for Naruto to clear his sandy throat lightly for Sasuke’s muscles to stiffen at the sound. Slowly, as if calculating his every move, his head turned to the side and his dark, intense gaze fell upon Naruto’s form.  
  
For a moment, time stopped and Naruto almost lost the strength in his legs, but willpower kept him steady and straight with pride, because he couldn’t allow himself to lose face in front of that person.  
  
Sasuke’s fine eyebrows rose slightly as if in mock surprise and his chin fell just the tiniest bit. They stared at each other in silence.  
  
For a moment there, Naruto remembered that he was disguised as a commoner, probably unrecognizable in Sasuke’s eyes. His joy turned to hesitation.  
  
What should he do? Tell Sasuke he was the Blondy that lend him the cigarettes in Midas? Pretend to be someone else entirely?  
  
Thousands of possibilities flashed through his mind, then, and in the end, all he knew was that he couldn’t let Sasuke go, so nothing concrete came out of his uncoordinated thoughts, because all sorts of feelings were clouding them.  
  
However, not long afterwards something changed in Sasuke’s expression, and it wasn’t the way he narrowed his sharp eyes, or the way his tongue flicked out to wet his lips, just something that sent all sorts of signals towards Naruto and made them tune in with each other.  
  
Just like that, comprehension dawned on Naruto: Sasuke had just realized who he was.

oOo

  
Sasuke had just finished getting ready for his part-time job at _Arthleth_ when he received a call from his boss, telling him he had to run an errand in Mistral Park, namely, they were running out of their best whisky, so he had to go to their main supplier to fetch a few bottles for the night shift.  
  
Small errands like those were a piece of cake for him, who was used to more dangerous and arduous tasks under Katze’s strict command.  
  
When he had made his way to Mistral Park, never in a million years would he have dreamed that he would run into the object of his most frequent thoughts as of late, let alone that said object would appear in front of him looking like he had just come out of the Slums.  
  
In fact, it took a while for Sasuke to understand who that Mongrel was and why he was standing there, staring at him like he wanted to say something but had been rendered speechless.  
  
The Blondy had changed his hair to a chocolate brown color. His eyes were now a shade darker than they used to be, so dark, in fact, that they almost looked black and there was no trace of the whisker marks on his face, probably concealed by makeup.  
  
He was wearing a pair of worn out black leather pants and a denim jacket over a baby blue shirt. The features were there, the proud pose, the size of the eyes but…  
  
Sasuke didn’t know what baffled him the most, if the fact that the Blondy was dressed up as a Mongrel, if the fact that he was _there_ , or the fact that, even then, he still looked abnormally attractive.  
  
One thing, though, Sasuke was sure of: the man was there because of _him_ , and that whole dress-up had been because of him.  
  
Suspicion took over him, but exhilaration was probably a stronger feeling pulsing in his veins, clouding all other feelings he might have.  
  
The person he had been looking for so thoroughly had willingly come to him.  
  
“You,” Sasuke called out, his voice coming out cold to conceal his exultation. “Your name. _Now_.”  
  
In fascination, he watched the man stuck his nose up in the air with that stance of immense dignity and lack of fear that excited Sasuke inexplicably.  
  
“Uchiha Sasuke,” the Blondy said confidently. “My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I want to talk to you.”  
  
Even though he wasn’t sure if that was his real name, Sasuke understood that, with those simple words, the man was telling him three, very distinct things.  
  
_I’ve researched about you, so I know very well who you are._  
  
_I don’t care._  
  
_Trust me as I am willing to trust you._  
  
And, even if his life experience told him not to trust people easily – especially someone who Sasuke just knew was now a connoisseur of his darkest secrets – he couldn’t just throw this amazing chance away now that that person, _Naruto_ , was there because of him. Even though he knew about Sasuke, his life, his past and probably his present as well, Naruto was still there for him.  
  
It could be a two edged knife as far as he knew, but still, the thrill of not knowing was too good to be denied or ignored. Sasuke wanted to know exactly how much Naruto knew about him and why that had brought him there all the same.  
  
Of course he had to take the chance. Even if it defied most of his convictions, Naruto had become a conviction as well. That look he was giving him left no room for second thoughts.  
  
“Yeah?” Sasuke asked, and his voice became lower, softer even. “Why?”  
  
Naruto’s hands curled into fists, but not aggressively so.  
  
“Maybe on a whim,” he said, clearly measuring his words carefully. “Maybe I want to know more about you.”  
  
Sasuke felt like laughing but instead chose to lift an eyebrow.  
  
“Like what?” he inquired. “You’re here. You know enough already, don’t you?”  
  
“Not particularly,” Naruto stated, smirking a bit, his eyes staring daggers of defiance into Sasuke’s. “I don’t know your favorite color, for example.”  
  
“Yes, because it matters so much what my favorite color is compared to everything else about me,” Sasuke mocked with transparent sarcasm.  
  
Naruto, however, wasn’t intimidated by the scorn.  
  
“Maybe, to me, it does.”  
  
A strong, heavy silence that not even the noisy street could break fell upon both of them. Sasuke couldn’t even remember how to blink or how to do anything, really, except to stare at that person in front of him, and it didn’t matter that Naruto didn’t look like himself at all - the Uchiha knew that now. Naruto was an unbelievably handsome person whose beauty could not be tarnished by anything, but it was the presence, the mere individuality of him that drew Sasuke to him.  
  
They didn’t know each other, and yet, Sasuke felt like they were communicating without words like two long timed friends. His mind couldn’t understand what Naruto was telling him, but his body did.  
  
It hadn’t been a dream.  
  
“You want to come with me?” The words left Sasuke’s mouth without him thinking about them. Whatever, it was too late to swallow them back down, anyway.  
  
Naruto licked his lips, eyes gleaming with excitement and he nodded once, the certainty of the gesture inflating something in Sasuke’s very ego and in other parts of his body as well.  
  
It really hadn’t been a dream. The electricity had been real - _was_ real even at that very moment. The way they clicked had been real, too, and now, a Tanagura Blondy and a Slum Mongrel were standing face to face once more, against all odds, looking for something that wasn’t clear yet but that they both knew they would search for with equal resolve.  
  
Without really thinking, Sasuke removed his arm through the visor of the helmet and extended the item to Naruto, who didn’t hesitate in closing the remaining distance between them with quick and firm steps.  
  
When he grabbed the helmet, their fingers brushed and when their eyes met, they both held the other’s gaze steadily, unblinkingly without breaking the seemingly insignificant skin on skin contact.  
  
Only when the rush of their first touch splashed over him did Sasuke truly realize how overwhelming that whole situation was, a Blondy from Tanagura leaving his golden walls to find a Slum Mongrel by his own two feet.  
  
“You’re crazy,” Sasuke whispered, his body quivering gently but imperceptibly with all sorts of urges that he forced himself to control.  
  
Perfect teeth showed in a small smirk, but Sasuke saw the emotion in Naruto’s eyes and the minor tremble in his lips.  
  
“Yeah, I’ve heard that about a thousand times today already,” Naruto whispered back. “Only it sounds so much more flattering coming from you.”  
  
Sasuke wanted to laugh again, his mind having reached a state close to hysteria, but instead just shook his head in amusement.  
  
“Just put the helmet on and button up you jacket or you’ll freeze.”  
  
Reluctantly, he stepped away from Naruto and zipped up his jacket, wondering about the way the Blondy eyed his movements before putting on the helmet and doing as Sasuke had instructed him.  
  
Sasuke nimbly mounted his bike and gestured for the other man to mount it behind him, which Naruto did, and with amazing gracefulness, too.  
  
“So, where are we headed?” Naruto asked, as Sasuke fumbled with his left pocket and took out the motorbike keys.  
  
“I don’t know,” Sasuke said sarcastically, starting the vehicle, the motor rearing loudly as Sasuke ignited it to life. “I assumed _Your Highness_ would be very well informed of my next location.”  
  
“ _Arthleth_ ,” Naruto said, with a chuckle. “Right?”  
  
“If you say so,” Sasuke retorted. Judging by his outfit, Naruto had been headed to Ceres, so that was precisely where Sasuke was taking him, and he wouldn’t bother to ask if he was okay with or not. Naruto wanted to play, and he would play with him on a whim as well, but by his rules. “You better hold on to me if you don’t want to fall. I like to ride fast.”  
  
“I bet you do,” Naruto said. Sasuke preferred to ignore the hint meaningfully hissed behind him – he was already worked up enough as it was, if he kept giving in to his body and allowed himself to be dragged along by Naruto’s flow, he was sure he wouldn’t be able to keep his cool for much longer. “Won’t that make you uncomfortable? You seem like an… independent, ‘don’t-touch-me’ kind of person.”  
  
In spite of his sardonic words, the Uchiha felt Naruto’s hands grasping cautiously the fabric of his jacket by his sides, causing his stomach to jump in the most extravagant of ways.  
  
“You’re wrong, Blondy,” he said, inhaling sharply and straightening his back. As the looked over his shoulder, Naruto leaned in to apparently hear him better and ended up bumping his helmet lightly against Sasuke’s temple by accident. The casual, semi-awkward contact made them both tense a bit, but neither moved away. Sasuke swallowed hard at feeling the other’s erratic heartbeat against his ribcage.  
  
“No-one is able to make me uncomfortable,” Sasuke murmured his voice low but steady. “Least of all someone like you.”  
  
If the now brunet man was offended he did nothing to show it. Instead, Sasuke felt arms encircling his waist from behind and hands grabbing his abdomen firmly.  
  
When Naruto spoke again, it sounded more like like an attemp at seduction than anything else.  
  
“Is this alright, then?”  
  
The blood was running so fast in his veins that Sasuke was beginning to feel dizzy, drunken by Naruto’s presence alone, so he straightened up once more before he caused some serious damage and faced the road, telling himself to fucking focus because losing his face was not a fucking option, no matter how stupidly horny and intellectually contented Naruto made him feel.  
  
“Just hold on,” he said, and moved the motorbike to the road before speeding down the street with ease.  
  
The chilling night air forced him to sober up at once, which relieved him because, even with Naruto’s chin currently resting over his shoulder, he could once more keep his shit together.  
  
He didn’t know what was going to happen, what Naruto wanted from him or why, but for now, he was sure that tonight would definitely be special and a lot different than the others.  
  
TBC...

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to ask questions! ^_^/

**Author's Note:**

> If you're enjoying it so far (or not) please, let me know. 
> 
> Until next time!


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